


The Wedding Night

by cuethe_pulse



Category: One Piece
Genre: Deathfic, M/M, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-28
Updated: 2013-07-28
Packaged: 2017-12-21 16:04:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/902193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cuethe_pulse/pseuds/cuethe_pulse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zoro had never expected any of this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Wedding Night

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [this prompt](http://community.livejournal.com/zosan_kinkmeme/491.html?thread=7915#t7915) at the [zosan_kinkmeme](http://community.livejournal.com/zosan_kinkmeme)

They decided to get married after the death of the 50th challenger.  
  
The death was unintentional. Zoro always made an effort to leave his challengers alive, some kind of homage to the kindness Mihawk had once given him. But the man’s wounds were worse than any of them realized. Within minutes of sheathing his sword and shaking Zoro’s hand, the young Braxon of South Blue collapsed onto the _All Blue-Baratie’s_ fighting deck. Between labored breaths, he managed only to give them the address of his one living relative—Boris, a brother, some years older—before choking on a hopeless, terrified sob and dying instantly.  
  
Sanji was sitting at the desk in his bedroom, composing a letter of unfortunate news to Boris, when Zoro broached the subject. Lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling, he asked, “What do you think about getting married?”  
  
“I think it would be incredibly cruel and unfair to all the beautiful women in the world for me to settle down with just one.”  
  
“…What do you think about getting married to _me_?”  
  
Sanji paused, pen stilling. “Are you asking me to marry you?”  
  
“No, I’m asking what you _think_ about marrying me.”  
  
Sanji tossed the pen down and turned around in his chair, scowling at the man on the bed. “This is a really shitty roundabout way to propose!”  
  
“I’m not proposing! I just…” Zoro sat up, glared at the wall, rubbed at the back of his neck. “That kid’s death got me thinking. And I was thinking that if I was dying and had to gasp out someone’s name and address, I’d want it to be yours.”  
  
“How romantic,” Sanji sighed, sounding like he thought it was anything but.  
  
“Don’t be an ass—”  
  
“Then don’t be a fucking coward. If you want to marry me, just say so.”  
  
“ _Fine_.”  
  
Zoro turned slightly, swung his legs off the bed, and stared. Sanji held his gaze steadily, waiting. Zoro opened his mouth to speak, then closed it to frown. Sighing again, Sanji returned to the letter. Zoro fell back onto the bed. Minutes passed and the only sound was pen scratching against paper. Thinking of Braxon’s heartbeat stopping beneath his palm, Zoro started to fall intro a light, frustrated sleep until—  
  
“Think we could make it through the engagement without killing each other?”  
  
“We can if it’s a short one.”  
  
  
  
Three months and seven invitations later, they were getting married on the deck. Zeff, who had won the coin toss between him and Luffy, performed the ceremony, which was sincere, but utterly unromantic—aided by Zeff’s thinly veiled threats to punt Zoro across the Grand Line if he dared to make a wrong move, and vows such as, “I promise not to call you cruel names in bed more than twice a week.”  
  
The only moment of sentimentality came during the exchanging of the rings. There was something incredibly intimate in the action that got through their tough exteriors. Years of perfecting self-control allowed Zoro to keep any emotions at bay as Sanji’s hand held his, as the band of cool silver slid over the knuckles of his ring finger. Sanji’s visible eye was glistening and he told Zoro to “shut the fuck up” when the swordsman gently teased, “I promise not to laugh if you cry.”  
  
“You may kiss,” Zeff told them, gruffly, “but keep it clean.”  
  
So they kissed, briefly, with mouths closed, but Sanji made a point to defiantly grab Zoro’s ass a little.  
  
The reception was held in the restaurant’s lavishly decorated dining hall. The cooks had prepared a feast that had Luffy salivating and struggling to break free of Robin’s restraining hold. Sanji hadn’t been allowed to take any part in the preparation of the wedding cake, which stood at the center of everything. Five tiers, three layers each with chocolate ganache filling. Yellow rolled fondant with white chocolate seashells and green sugar flowers.  
  
“Too extravagant for you?” Sanji smirked at the way Zoro was eyeing his generous slice.  
  
“We should’ve gone ashore and done this privately.”  
  
“Mm. They never would’ve forgiven us,” Sanji said, watching the girls titter over glasses of bubbly champagne while Luffy fought Usopp and Chopper over a turkey leg. Smiling, he dropped his hand underneath the table and slid it up Zoro’s thigh. “Just concentrate on the wedding night.”  
  
The _Wedding Night_ was a small boat Franky had built for them, anchored between _All Blue-Baratie_ and _Thousand Sunny_ , sporting a flag that declared, “Newlyweds on Board”. Admittedly, it was what Zoro was looking forward to the most. So no one was surprised when the newlyweds left the reception just a little bit earlier than they probably should’ve.  
  
The moment they entered the bunkroom, their mouths met and Zoro had his arms full of a hot and eager husband. Sanji’s legs wrapped around his waist, tightening with each step closer to the bed. Zoro lowered them slowly onto the satin sheet covered mattress, sucking on Sanji’s tongue. He had a niggling feeling in the back of his mind that he tried to push aside. It was probably nothing, he assured himself, and he wanted to focus on Sanji.  
  
He sat up and pulled his shirt off quickly, frowned down at Sanji as the cook took his time undressing.  
  
Sanji smirked up at him in response, slowly slipping his suit jacket off. “We’re supposed to savor this, idiot,” he said, idly fingering the top button of his shirt.  
  
“It’s not a _meal_.”  
  
Sanji popped open one button, then another, watching the way Zoro’s eyes were instantly drawn to his revealed skin. “You sure about that?”  
  
Zoro untucked Sanji’s shirt and pushed it up, ignoring the undone buttons and the cook’s protest. “Too damn slow.”  
  
He kissed down Sanji’s stomach, glancing up when he reached the zipper of his pants. Sanji reached down, sifted his fingers through Zoro’s hair, and smiled.  


* * *

  
Zoro had never expected Sanji to fall in love with him. He had become the world’s greatest swordsman, and he’d figured that would be enough for this lifetime. He hadn’t needed anything else. But he’d wanted. He’d wanted, silently, without any hope of that want being reciprocated.  
  
And then one night they’d been sitting on the deck of _All Blue-Baratie_ , sharing a bottle of wine, and when they’d run out of things to say, Sanji had grabbed him by the neck and pulled him close so their foreheads, noses had bumped together a little painfully—  


* * *

  
Sanji’s fingernails dug hard into the back of his shoulders. “Where are you?”  
  
Zoro removed his fingers from the tightness of Sanji’s body and grinned. “Our first kiss.”  
  
“Sap.”  
  
“There was nothing sappy about it,” he recalled. “You bit my lip so hard it bled.”  
  
“You know you liked it.” Sanji spread his legs wider and watched Zoro lube his erection with a slick hand. “You were just _waiting_ for me to kiss you. It was pathetic.”  
  
“Pathetic?”  
  
“Can’t kiss a guy when you want to, can’t propose properly,” Sanji teased. “Make a move, already.”  
  
One thrust, and he was all the way inside.  
  
Sanji sucked in a sharp breath and Zoro waited for him to nod, faintly. They didn’t speak. They communicated with the rolling of their hips, the arching of their bodies, the fluttering of their eyelashes. The way their lips parted in silent gasps. The way Sanji’s crossed ankles pushed at Zoro’s back, forcing him in deeper. The way Zoro slowed his movements when he took Sanji’s hand in his and kissed his fingers, kissed his ring.  


* * *

  
Zoro had never expected to have two dreams. And he’d certainly never expected to have them both come true.  


* * *

  
They clung to each other, bodies still jerking with aftershocks. Sanji’s fingers slid out of Zoro’s hair to trace his ears, toy with his earrings.  
  
“Oi.”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“I love you.”  
  
Zoro lifted his head, panting a little, still catching his breath. “I love you, too.”  
  
Zoro kissed him, and Sanji responded with enthusiasm, curling one leg around his and pressing up against him. They would’ve gone again, but that bad feeling was back and it was stronger than before. Zoro tried to ignore it for as long as he could, but he pulled away when a soft thump confirmed what he already sensed.  
  
“There’s someone outside.”  
  
Sanji’s hold on him loosened so he could sit up and squint at the wall, like he was trying to see through it.  
  
“It’s probably the guys,” Sanji said, though he didn’t sound very certain. “Trying to pull some stupid prank.”  
  
“Probably.” But he was already getting up, already pulling on his pants and reaching for his swords. “Could be a challenger. I’m just going to—”  
  
Sanji nodded dismissively. “Yeah, sure.”  
  
Zoro slipped on a shirt, not bothering to button it, and took a moment to lean down and kiss him again, briefly. “I’ll be right back,” he promised.  
  
“I know. Go kick some ass.”  
  
  
  
There was a new, smallish ship anchored nearby. Zoro eyed it for a second, then looked around the deck of the _Wedding Night_ , not finding anyone. Frowning, he made his way to the railing and looked down. There was a rowboat bobbing slightly on the water, and a man sitting on it with a serious expression on a face that was vaguely familiar.  
  
“Have you come for my title?” Zoro asked.  
  
“We’ll see,” the man said, “if you come with me, to my ship. I wouldn’t want to disturb your new husband, or your friends.”  
  
Zoro glanced at the _All Blue-Baratie_ , where he could hear that the reception was still in full swing, and then at the bunkroom, where he’d left Sanji. He didn’t want to go. But he had a duty, a responsibility, as the world’s greatest swordsman, so he jumped down into the boat and they rowed over to the ship without a word.  
  
The ship was empty. Zoro was mildly impressed; to brave the seas alone, the man obviously had to have skills. Or he was simply insane.  
  
“I never thought I would need to go sailing,” the man said. “This is the only time I’ve left my home, and I’ve done it for the sole purpose of finding you.”  
  
“Your determination to be the best is admirable.”  
  
The man snorted derisively. “You misunderstand. I’m not interested in being the greatest anything. The one with that dream was my brother.”  
  
“Your brother?” Zoro stilled, brow furrowed. His eyes studied the man’s face, gradually widening as recognition struck him. “Braxon.”  
  
“You remember his name,” Boris said as he reached for his sword. “That’s sweet. Do you make an effort to remember all the men you kill, or just the ones you _really_ like?”  
  
The man’s first attack was weak. Frowning heavily around Wadou, Zoro dodged easily. He wouldn’t apologize. He wouldn’t try to explain or console. The man had lost his brother; any attempt to reason with him would’ve been a foolish waste of time.  
  
  
  
When he heard the sound of clashing swords, Sanji stood from the bed. He wrapped the sheets loosely around his waist and went to the door, looked out at the ship and watched as the two figures ran at each other.  
  
He was used to this—challengers showing up at inopportune moments. He closed the door and returned to the bed once he found his cigarettes. He could wait patiently. They had all the time in the world.  
  
  
  
“Braxon used to tell me,” Boris said between shallow breaths, “that to be the world’s greatest swordsman, you had to distance yourself from the ones who loved you, the ones you loved. Think there’s truth in that?”  
  
“Unfortunately.” Zoro wasn’t sure what to do, wasn’t sure if he should wait for the man to get tired or if he should just knock him out, maybe restrain him…  
  
“Well, you didn’t have to. You must be lucky.” He grunted, stumbled a little, when the back of Shuusui’s blade hit him in the stomach. “Back of the blade? Feeling generous?”  
  
“Listen.” Zoro stepped back, took Wadou out of his mouth. “This is getting old.”  
  
Boris smiled at him. Smiled and dropped his sword. And Zoro probably should’ve known, then, but his mind wasn’t as clear as it should’ve been and he was just relieved.  
  
“Don’t worry,” Boris said as he slipped his hand into his pants pocket. “It’ll be over in a second.”  
  
There was a click.  


* * *

  
Zoro had never expected Sanji to go through with getting married. He’d watched Sanji send out invitations and approve decorations, all the while completely certain the cook had been moments away from changing his mind.  
  
“I’ll never change my mind about you, shithead,” Sanji had told him. “But if you’re chickening out, feel free to leave.”  
  
“I won’t leave.”  
  
“All right, then.” Sanji had kissed him, a little softer than usual. “You’re stuck with me forever, marimo.”  


* * *

  
The explosion seemed to make time stop. Even as the water was disturbed and the _Wedding Night_ became nothing but smoke and fire, everything else came to a halt. The party onboard the _All Blue-Baratie_ went completely silent. Zoro’s heart stopped beating.  
  
And then, as if to make up for it, the next several minutes went by in a flash. Zoro could hear the anguished cries and angry screams, but his focus was on Boris. The man was still just standing there, just smiling, and he barely even blinked when Zoro came at him with a _Sanzen Sekai_. The slices were purposeful and they were deep and they were fatal. Zoro watched him bleed out onto the deck, watched his grin become a grimace, watched him die quickly.  
  
He sheathed his swords and sat down on the wood he could barely feel beneath his feet. He kept his back turned to the chaos behind him. He didn’t want to see the remains of the _Wedding Night_ , the remains of his dream. He didn’t want to see everyone’s faces; he didn’t want them to see his. He tried to convince himself of things that weren’t true, and his Convincing Voice sounded way too much like Usopp as it told him, “It’s okay, Sanji’s fine, he’s swimming over here right now, he’s right behind you, you’re going to feel his touch on your shoulder any minute now, he can’t just die like this, he can’t go before you, you know that, and he promised you forever.”  
  
But there was no touch on his shoulder. There was just the sound of hopeless mourning and his own solemnly heavy heartbeat. Zoro looked at his wedding ring. He brought it to his lips, which, trembling, barely brushed against it.  
  
He never expected forever to end so soon.


End file.
